Slub-catcher



Oct. 19, 1954 w. v. GooDHUE ETAL SLUB CATCHER Filed April 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 22- Illmlny Oct. 19, 1954 w. v. GooDHUE ET AL 2,691,810

SLUBTCATCHER l Filed April l, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Oct. 19, 1954 SLUB-CATCHER William V. Goodhue, Warwick, Frank W. Higgins, Cranston, and. Paul D. Baltzer, Providence, R. I., assignors to Universal Winding Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 1, 1952, Serial No. 279,764

18 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in slub-catchers for removing slubs, bunches and other enlargements from yarn, thread and similar lamentary materials and otherwise cleaning the material by discharging lint, metes and other foreign particles therefrom.

In the present specincation and claims the term yarn is used in a general sense to indicate any attenuated textile material whether natural or synthetic.

One object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated embodying a scraperblade having its edge either sharpened or serrated for coaction with an anvil or rest for the yarn, and means for manually adjusting the blade to vary the opening between its edge and the anvil in proportion to the size of the yarn being acted upon.

Another object is to provide micrometer adjusting means for precise, accurate setting of the edge of the blade in spaced relation to the anvil and locking means for positively retaining the blade in its .adjusted position.

Another object is to provide micrometer adjusting means for the blade including a dial having graduations and a pointer cooperating therewith for indicating different settings of the blade.

Another object is to provide an improved and more convenient adjusting means for setting the blade combined with locking means for securing the blade in adjusted position without chance 0f the adjustment being disturbed.

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred form of construction of the present improved slub-catcher as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of the present improved slub-catcher;

Fig. 2 is an elevational side view of the slubcatcher shown as .applied to use in connection with a tension-device of conventional type;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational rear View of the device with its cover removed to show the operating means for adjusting the scraper-blade Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the hook-meinber for anchoring one end of the spring connected to operate the wiper-blade.

As is the general custom for inspecting and cleaning yarn as it feeds to` a winding or other textile machine, the present improved slubcatcher may be supported on a bracket 2 in combination with a tension-device 3 of conventional form such as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The tension-bracket 2 may have a mounting for a pivot-pin on which are rotatably supported a pair of concavo-convex tension-disks 5 with a weight t for applying pressure thereto. The disks 'e press on the yarn y to resist its passage through the tension-device and thereby apply tension thereto. The tension-bracket 2 may be formed at one end with an inclined portion 'l having a re-entrant opening therein for guiding the yarn y toward the tension-disks 5, this por" tion of the bracket not being shown in detail as it is of usual construction. A wire bail t is mounted on the bracket 2 for directing the yarn y between the tension-disks in threading the device.

The slub-catcher of the present invention is preferably mounted on a bracket Il! separate from the tension-bracket 2 but adapted to be attached thereto by screws l l passing through holes in the rearward crossbar I2 of the bracket. The bracket lil consists in a horizontal base portion or crossarm lll forming a support for a sheet-metal anvil or yarn-rest I5 which is folded at right-angles in a step i6 overlying the top of the crossarm Hl .and providing a smooth upper face for the yarn y to draw across. The anvil l5 may be fastened to the crossarm le by screws il or any other suitable means. At one end of the crossarm ill of the bracket lil is an upright arm it bent at an angle to incline its upper portion le rearwardly from the vertical.

Supported on the upper portion i9 of the arm i3 on the bracket il) is a rectangular sheet-metal plate 2d, see Figs. 3, 4 and 5, having an offset portion 2l fastened to the arm by bolts 22. The plate 2li is bent at right-angles along two of its edges to form a rearwardly-projecting ange with a length 2li overhanging its upper edge and a length 25 extending along its vertical edge. The plate 2li serves the dual purpose of a mounting and cover for the operating parts of the slub-catcher with the side flange 25 providing a guiding face for a blade-holder 3D to be later described. The upper portion of the plate or cover 2G is formed with a relatively narrow horizontal slot or rectangular opening 3| and at the center of the plate the metal is struck up or ernbossed to form a tapering nnger-like hollow enclosure 33 opening from the rear, see Fig. 5.

The blade-holder consists in a substantially rectangular plate tted to slide between the i-lnished edge of the upper portion ISl of the arm. IB and the inner face of the side flange 25 on the cover-plate 20 with a relatively close it. The upper portion of the blade-holder 35 is extended in a central stern 35 screw-threaded to engage through the threaded bore of a anged hub forced into a disk 36 with the ilange 4I abutting its under side. The disk 36 serves as the manually adjustable means for sliding the blade-holder up or down on the cover-plate 20, being preferably constructed from colored plastic and marked with indicia on its upper face. Through this arrangement the adjusting disk 36 is rotatably mounted in the slot 3I or" the cover-plate 20 with the upper end of its hub 44 engaging the upper edgeof the slot and the flange 4I bearing against the lower edge of the slot.

A double-looped fiat spring 45 is arranged with its legs engaging under the horizontal portion 24 of the projecting flange on the plate 20 while the lower reach of the spring engages the end of the threaded stem 35 to apply pressure thereagainst for resisting the upward sliding movement of the blade-holder 39. rlhe upper face of the disk 35 is marked in degrees by graduations surrounding its circumference and indicated by numerals 0, 2, 4, 6, etc. to 30. A pointer 46 projects from the rearward face of an auxiliary cover-plate 41 to cooperate with the graduations on the disks 36 when the latter is turned manually to slide the blade-holder 30 up or down. IThe pointer 45 may be sheared from the sheet-metal plate 4l' which overlies the back of the blade-holder 30 and is fastened to the upper portion I 9 of the arm I8 by nuts 48 on the bolts 22, previously mentioned and shown in Fig. 2. The lower portion of the plate 41 is offset outwardly and extends downwardly at the rear of the blade-holder 30 as shown in Fig. 5.

The blade-holder 30 is provided near its top f with a pair of rivets 49 having relatively thin anged heads underlying the offset portion of the plate 41 and serving to pivotally mount the scraper-blade 50 on the back of blade-holder. The scraper-blade 50 is maintained with its upper edge bearing aga-inst the projecting shanks of the rivets 49 underlying the heads thereof by a spring 55, shown most clearly in Fig. 5. The blade-holder 3!) is formed with a triangular opening 52 extending a portion of its vertical length, through which extends the tension spring 55 for normally holding the scraper-blade 58 flat against the rearward face of the blade-holder. The upper end of the spring 55 is anchored to a hook-member 55 comprising an elbow-shaped strip of sheet-metal fastened to the blade-holder 30 by a rivet 51, shown in Fig. 3, and having a portion extending through the opening 52 and projecting through the opening in the coverplate within the enclosure or housing 33.

Referring to the enlarged perspective view, Fig, '7, the horizontal portion of the hook-member 56 is struck up or embossed to provide an upwardly-projecting boss 58 adapted to hook through the upper coils of the spring 55 to anchor it thereto. The lower end of the spring 55 has its end hooked through a pair of holes 59 in the scraper-blade 50 and through these connections the spring maintains the blade with its upper edge bearing against the stud-like rivets 49 on the holder. By this relationship between the anchorage of the spring 55 and its connection to the blade 5i! the spring is biased to normally hold the blade flat against the rearward face of the holder 30. At the top of the scraper-blade 50 is a projection G slotted to straddle the sides of the hook-member 53 and locate the blade laterally on the rearward face of the holder. The tension of the spring 55 may be adjusted by removing its end from the hook-member 55 and reconnecting it thereto with any suitable number of coils of the spring overlying the top of the hook to either increase or reduce its effective length.

The lower portion of the blade-holder 3B carries a headed screw Si having its shank extending through a slot 62 in the cover-plate 2B, the screw being loosened to release the blade-holder for adjustment and thereafter tightened to secure the parts in adjusted relationship.

The method of operation of the present iinproved slub-catcher is as next explained. The device is adjusted to set the scraper-blade 50 with its edge in spaced relation to the upper face of the anvil I5 to provide a slit therebetween of a width in proportion to the thickness or size of the yarn to be cleaned. The adjustment is accomplished by manually turning the dial 35 to raise or lower the blade-holder 36 as the disk is turned either clockwise or contraclockwise, respectively, as Viewed in Fig. 4. The screwthreaded engagement between the bore of the hub 4U in the disk or dial 36 and the stem 35 of the blade-holder 3G will thus cause the bladeholder to be raised or lowered, this adjustment being made with the locking stud 5I released. By this method of adjustment the scraper-blade 5B1 may be positioned very accurately to secure a minute adjustment of its lower edge in relation to the anvil I5 in proportion to different sizes of yarn to be cleaned in the device. After the scraper-blade 50 has been positioned accurately by the micrometer adjusting means the locking stud 5I is tightened to bind the blade-holder 30 snugly against the cover-plate 20 to prevent accidental or unwarranted movement of the bladeholder and maladjustme'nt of the scraper-blade.

When used in connection with a tension-device such as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the yarn is threaded into place between the tension-disks 5 in the manner previously explained and then introduced through the slub-catcher by drawing it across the horizontal face of the anvil I5 through the opening between the edge of the scraper-blade 50 and the anvil. When the device is prepared for operation in the manner explained the yarn may be taken up by any collecting device, such as the rotary spindle of a winding machine, and the draft on the yarn will cause it to feed through the tension device and thence across the anvil I5 beneath the edge of the scraper-blade 55. During the passage of the strand through the slub-catcher any loose lint, motes cr other particles will be scraped off therefrom and when a slub or other enlargement occurs in the strand and cannot be scraped off therefrom the device operates to cause breakage of the strand so that the slub or the like may be removed.

Upon the slub or other enlargement striking the edge of the scraper-blade 5i) the blade will be forced rearwardly against the tension of the spring 55 to cause its edge to impinge against the surface of the anvil I5 and thereby rupture the yarn. The imperfection in the yarn may then the space between the edge of the blade 50 and the surface of the anvil I5 to continue to operate as previously explained, the blade being returned to its initial relationship flat against the rearward face of the blade-holder 3D and held in this position under the tension of the spring 55.

It has been explained that the tension of the spring 55 may be adjusted to apply greater or lesser resistance to the swinging movement of the scraper-blade when its edge encounters a slub or other enlargement which cannot be removedv from the yarn. Ordinarily, with line delicate materials the spring will be adjusted to apply only a very light tension on the blade 5B so that the action of the latter will be sensitive in its response; whereas, with heavier yarns -it may be necessary to adjust the spring to exert a greater degree of tension on the blade to prevent abnormal movement thereof engendered by the friction of the yarn feeding across the edge of the blade. As before indicated, the lower edge of the scraper-blade 50 may be beveled to sharpen it as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 or in vother instances it may be serrated as illustrated in Fig. 6 to provide a series of fine teeth to render it more positive in its action to break or rupture the yarn when an enlargement thereon is encountered.

It will be observed from the foregoing specification that the present invention provides a very simple and practical form of slug-catcher and yarn-cleaner adapted for precise, accurate adjustment between the edge of the scraper-blade and the face of the anvil or yarn-rest; and in which the amount of adjustment is indicated visually by means of the graduations on the rotary dial 36. In this way greater convenience of adjustment and greater accuracy in the setting of the scraper-blade is secured so that the present form of construction providing for these advantages makes for an important improvement in the art.

While the invention is herein shown and described as embodied in a preferred form of construction, various modifications may be made in the shape and arrangement of the parts of the device without departing from. the spirit or scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims. Therefore, without limiting ourselves in this respect, we claim:

1. A slub-catcher and yarn-cleaner comprising a stationary rest for supporting a strand of yarn member, and a spring acting to normally mainn tionary anvil for supporting a strand of yarn Vto#y feed thereacross, al member slidably mounted for adjustment in relation to said anvil, a disk. rotatably mounted above said anvil, screw-threaded means connecting said disk with said slidable member. to adjust said. member toward and away;l

6 from the` anvil, ay scraper-blade pivoted to said slidable member for adjustment therewith, and a spring biasedbetween said slidable member and said scraper-blade to normally maintain the latter in abutting relation to the slidable member to locate its lower edge in spaced relation to the anvil while adapting it to swing toward the anvil.

3. A slub-catcher and yarn-cleaner comprising a support, a blade-holder slidable on said4 support and provided with screw-threads, a rotary element having screw-threads engaging the threads on the blade-holder for sliding the latter,v a scraper-blade pivotally. mounted on the blade-holder to adapt its lower portion to swing toward and away therefrom, an anvil located below the' scraper-blade to provide a rest fora strand of yarn drawing thereacross beneath the edge of the blade, and a spring for normally maintaining said scraper-blade/in abutting relation to the blade-holder to position it with its lower edge in spaced relation to the anvil.

4. A slub-catcher and yarn-cleaner comprising a rest adapted to support a strand. ofv yarn. to feed thereacross, a: movable member adjustable toward and away from said rest, a manuallyoperable disk rotatably mounted above said rest, a screw-threaded connection between said rotatable disk and the movable member for adjusting the latter toward or away from said rest, a scraper-blade pivotally mounted on the movable member with its lower edge opposed to the-rest, and a spring anchored to the movable member and connected tothe scraper-blade to normally hold the latter in abutting relation to the movable member with its edge spaced from the surface of the rest tovform a' slit therebetween,

5; A slab-catcher and yarn-cleaner comprising a fixed anvil across which a strand ofyarn is adapted to feed, a slidable member mounted to move relativelyl to said anvil to adjust it in opposed relation thereto, a manually-rotatable member formed with interior screw-threads, a screw-threaded stem connected to the slidable y member and engaging the threads in the rotatable a strandv of yarn to feed thereacross, a member slidably mounted on said support for adjustment toward and away from said anvil, a screwthreaded stem; on said slidable member, a manually-operable.member rotatably mounted on the support and provided with a screw-threaded bore engaging the threads on the stem of the slidable member, a scraper-blade pivoted to said slidable member, and a spring biased between the slidable member and the scraper-blade to maintain the latterin abutting relation to said slidable member with its edge in spaced relation to the anvil. 7. A slub-catclier and yarn-cleaner comprising a support, an anvil mounted on said support to yadapt a strand of yarn to draw thereacross, a

plate slidably mounted on the support to move toward and away from the anvil, a manuallyoperable adjusting member rotatably mounted on the support, screw-threaded. means connecting said. rotatable member andr said plate, a scraperblade pivotally mounted at its upper end on the slidable plate, and a spring biased between the plate and said scraper-blade to normally maintain the latter abutting the back of the plate with its lower edge spaced from the anvil and forming an opening to adapt the yarn to lfeed therethrough, said opening between the edge of the blade and the anvil being adjustable in width by turning the rotary member to slide the plate on the support.

8. In a device of the type speciiied, a support having guideways, a member slidable in the guideways on said support, a manually-operable adjusting member rotatably mounted on the support, a screw-threaded connection between said adjusting member and said slidable member for sliding the latter in the guideways, a scraper-blade pivotally mounted on the slidable member, a spring for maintaining said scraper-blade normally in abutting relation to said slidable member, and a iixed member across which a strand of yarn is adapted to feed, said fixed member cooperating with the scraper-blade to form a slit between said member and the edge of the blade, and said blade adapted to swing towards the fixed member when engaged by a slub or enlargement to cause the blade to rupture the yarn.

9. In a device of the type specified, a bracket, a plate-member mounted on the bracket and provided vvith guideways, a blade-holder slidably mounted in the guideways and formed with a screw-threaded stem, a disk having an interiorlythreaded bore engaging the threads on the stem of the blade-holder and rotatably mounted in a slot in the plate-member, a scraper-blade pivotally mounted on the blade-holder, and a spring tensioned between the blade-holder and the blade to normally maintain the latter abutting the side of the holder, said scraper-blade being arranged with its lower edge adjustable toward and away from a fixed support across which a yarn strand is adapted to feed and cooperating therewith to be engaged by a slub or enlargement on .the yarn to break the strand.

10. In a device of the type indicated, a support,

f a cover fastened to said support and cooperating therewith to form guideways, a plate abutting the cover and slidable in said guideways, a stationary anvil across which a strand of yarn is adapted to feed, a scraper-blade pivoted to the slidable plate with its edge in cooperative relation to the anvil, a spring acting between the plate and the blade to normally retain the latter with its edge spaced from the anvil to form a slit therebetween, and screw-threaded means for sliding the plate to adjust the edge of the blade in its relation to the anvil to vary the width of the slit therebetween.

11. In a device of the type indicated, an anvil xedly supported to adapt a strand of yarn to feed thereacross, a member slidably mounted above said anvil and formed with an opening adjacent its center, a scraper-blade pivotally mounted on said slidable member with its edge in opposed relation to the anvil, a helical spring anchored at one end to the slidable member and biased to extend through the opening therein with its opposite end fastened to the scraperblade to normally maintain the latter in abutting relation to the slidable member, and manuallyoperable means for sliding said slidable member to adjust the scraper-blade and vary the size of the opening between its edge and the anvil.

12. In a device of the type indicated, a support, an anvil xed to the support, a cover-member mounted on said support and formed with a rectangular opening, a member slidably mounted on the cover-member and formed with a screwthreaded stem, a disk having a screw-threaded bore engaging the threads of the stem to mount said disk in the opening in the cover-member, a blade pivotally mounted on the slidable member to adapt its lower edge to cooperate with the anvil across which a yarn is adapted to feed, and a spring acting between the slidable member and the blade to maintain the edge of the blade normally in spaced relation to the anvil.

13. In combination with a iixed rest across which a yarn is adapted to feed, a support, a member slidable on said support toward and away from said fixed rest and formed with a central opening, a pair of studs on said slidable member, a scraper-blade arranged with its upper edge bearing against said studs to pivotally mount it on the slidable member, a spring anchored at one end to the slidable member and biased to eX- tend through the opening therein with its opposite end engaging the scraper-blade to maintain the latter normally abutting the side of said slidable member, and manually-operable means for sliding the slidable member to adjust the edge of the blade in spaced relation to the xed support to provide a slit through which the yarn feeds.

14. In a device of the type indicated, a support having guideways, a plate slidable in the guideways on said support and formed with a screw-threaded stem, a disk having a threaded bore engaging the threads on the stem of said slidable member, means for rotatably mounting said disk on the support to adapt it to be turned to cause its threaded connection with the slidable member to slide the latter, a leaf-spring mounted on the support in engagement with the end of the stem on the slidable member to resist the sliding movement thereof, a scraperblade carried by said slidable member, and a xed anvil cooperating with the edge of said scraper-blade to adapt a yarn to feed thereacross between the rest and the edge of the scraperblade.

15. In a device of the type indicated, a support, a member slidable on said support and formed with screw-threads, a disk having a threaded bore engaging said screw-threads on the slidable member for slidably adjusting the latter, said disk formed with graduations, a i'ixed pointer on the support cooperating with the graduations on the disk to indicate the extent of adjustment of the slidable member, a scraperblade mounted on the slidable member, and a fixed rest across which a yarn is adapted to feed in contact with the edge of the blade.

16. In a device of the type indicated', a support having an opening, a plate slidable on the support and formed with a screw-threaded stem, a disk mounted to turn in the opening in the support and provided with a threaded bore engaging the threads on the stem of the slidable member, a scraper-blade pivotally mounted on said plate, a helical spring having one end connected to the scraper-blade, a hook-member on the plate having a projection adapted to engage through the coils of the spring to adjustably mount the latter and Vary the tension of said spring, and a stationary rest in opposed relation to the edge of the blade to adapt the yarn to draw thereacross in contact with the edge of the blade.

17. In combination, a xed rest across which a yarn is adapted to feed, a support fixedly mounted relatively to said rest, a cover-plate fastened to said support and cooperating therewith to form guideways, said cover pierced with a rectangular slot, a member slidable in said guideways on the cover-plate, a manually-rotatable disk journaled in the slot in the cover, a screwthreaded connection between said disk and the slidable member for sliding the latter, a scraperblade pivotally mounted on the slidable member, and a spring biased between said slidable member and the scraper-blade to normally maintain the latter abutting the rearward face of the member, said disk being adapted for rotation to slide the member and adjust the edge of the scraperblade in its relation to the yarn-rest to vary the width of the slit therebetween.

18. A slub-catcher and yarn-cleaner comprising a stationary rest for supporting a strand of yarn to feed thereaeross, a member slidably mounted above said rest to move toward and away therefrom, a manually-rotatable member connected to said slidable member by screwthreaded means for sliding said member to adjust it relatively to said rest, a scraper-blade rockably mounted on the slidable member, means for normally maintaining said scraper-blade in abutting relation to the slidable member to 1ocate its lower edge in opposed relation to the rest, and clamping means for holding said slidable member in fixed relation to the rest after it has been adjusted by said manually-rotatable member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 836,137 Parker Nov. 20, 19-06 1,804,019 McKean May 5, 1931 2,002,843 Truesdell May 28, 1935 

